Tea India, very kindly sent me a gorgeous hamper full of amazing goodies and challenged me to live in an Ayurvedic way as to suit my Dosha type for a week.
What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is a holistic approach to life rooted in India and practised for over 5,000 years. Literally, it means, the science of life… It’s based on the idea that knowing your mind-body type (your dosha), and the behaviour best suited to this dosha – from the foods you eat to the exercise you choose – is the perfect way to sustain the mind and body’s natural state of equilibrium, or ‘balance’.
What is a dosha? There are three doshas in Ayurveda – vata, pitta and kapha – and we are generally influenced by a dominance of one or two of the three. Knowing yours can be the key to happiness, health and creative growth. Understanding your dosha allows you to learn how you can find more balance in your life, from the types of food you eat to the exercise you do each day. It’s all about knowing what your mind and body is naturally suited to and ultimately helps you to live a more fulfilled life!
My Dosha is Pitta (fiery, hot, easily stressed out), so to balance this, my body needs all things calming, relaxing & cooling. Once I took the test, I was sent lovely goodies to balance out my Dosha, including a Chilly’s water bottle, an Ayurvedic tongue scraper (more on this to come as I’ve been tongue scraping for years), a lovely mug & an Ayurvedic book by Geera Vara) and set to spend a week trying to find the perfect balance of my Dosha type. This little challenge actually came at a great time of year, as normally I’m a lover of warming & fiery curries & porridges, but as the weather was so hot, naturally my body was craving cooler, lighter foods anyway, which suited my balancing of dosha!
I found myself welcoming the lovely herbal teas at the beginning and end of my day to bring me back to balance, with the Vitality & Energy Tea in the morning & the Peace & Calm Tea just before bed. And generally, I felt lighter & had more energy when I was making a conscious & mindful decision to listen to my body & fuel it with foods that would make bring me into balance.
Have you tried paying attention to your Dosha type and eating a little more mindfully?
You can take the Dosha test to find out yours, here.
